The former governor of Kaduna State and a presidential aspirant said the current level of corruption will not be known until APC leaves power.

Speaking with PDP leaders in Enugu, he claimed that the anti-graft war was weak under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration because it has been politicised.

Makarfi said, “By the time APC is kicked out in 2019, you will know that the corruption in the system now is even worse now than in PDP’s 16 years. It is usually difficult to investigate a government in power.

“But, I must tell you clearly that this government is corrupt. They keep saying PDP is corrupt, yet we established EFCC, ICPC etc, which showed our readiness to fight corruption from the beginning.”

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Markafi was the Chairman Senate Committee on Finance then.

Senator Makarfi spoke with journalists in Kaduna on Saturday where he noted that his panel was saddled with the responsibility of probing the financial records of the NNPC.

According to him, “We did not investigate her (Diezani ). We investigated the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the proceeds of sale of crude that NNPC was supposed to have remitted to the federation account and for the period of either 15 or 16 months.

“Our report made it clear that there were several aspects under her ministry that we did not look into because we were not mandated to do that like the issue of swaps, strategic alliances, sale of oil blocks, investments and other issues.

“Still, within the area we investigated, our report was clear that over N1 bn was not accounted for even though some agencies such as NPDC accepted that some hundreds of millions (naira) were in their accounts waiting for reconciliation before they could be remitted.

“We were asked to follow up when the senate approved that report, so we wrote series of letters to confirm whether the remittances had been done, but maybe because we were leaving office, our letters were ignored.

“The report is there. We never cleared anybody. We were not asked to investigate her as a person but NNPC as an institution. They owned up to everything, only that they could not account for everything and our report showed that.”

He also spoke concerning a former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, saying that since he had served his sentence, he is free to join any political party and participate in politics.

He said, “The law prevents him from holding public office for some time and if we apply the law, we should not deny him his constitutional right to participate in politics.

“Participating in politics does not mean occupying public office. Why are prisoners allowed to vote? It is because they have the constitutional right. So an ex-convict has the right to participate in anything the law allows.

“By 2019, when we take over, we are not going to be vindictive but the truth will prevail

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Makinde spoke when he received Makarfi and top stalwarts of the PDP at his Ikolaba Ibadan residence on Thursday.

Those who accompanied Makarfi to Makinde’s house include Senator Abdul Ningi, Hon. Dokun Odebunmi, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Professor Jerry Gana, Dr. Saka Balogun, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, Senator Hosea Agboola, Hon. Muraina Ajibola and Hon. Mulikat Adeola among others.

Makinde while speaking said that the visit of the stalwarts was a good signal to the ruling party to pack their loads at the federal and states levels.

He said, “It is a signal to the ruling party that they should pack their loads out of the government houses.

“Imposition forced us to leave PDP in 2015, we informed the national leadership but they did not listen to us and the chairman has said that all that has become thing of the past.

“There are still discussions, the issue of internal democracy, the issue of impunity, it is the conditions to be meet.

“I have been a part of efforts by Professor Jerry Gana talking to us in SDP, we have been concerned, been talking, like I said from 2002 I have been in PDP before the 2003 elections and I worked for my father Senator Rasidi Ladoja.

“PDP is our natural habitat, we went back to PDP in 2015 because that is our natural habitat.

“In 2015, I also tried to contest in PDP, I had to leave again. Why is because national executive at that time also refused to give us a level playing ground at that time.

“What I want is that guarantee of internal democracy. PDP is my natural habitat, I can say I am 99 percent in PDP.

Makarfi had earlier told the gathering that the visit to Makinde was a continuation of the PDP reconcilatory move to ensure former members of the party are back and woo new members.

He said “This is a continuation of our interaction, even before we came, I believed Professor Jerry Gana had meet some leaders including Chief Olu Falae and we have been talking on how move forward, for consolidation for the sake of Nigeria and Oyo State.

Makarfi then condemned the spate of insecurity, inflation, bad governance and unemployment saying Nigeria belongs to everybody and not only the APC.

He said ” All kinds of insecurity in parts of the country, Nigeria belongs to all of us, there is a need for democratic leaders to come together.

“We have learnt our lessons, our aim is to have internal democracy”.

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Makarfi said this when he and other leaders of political parties, mostly the APC and PDP paid the President a courtesy visit where the PDP National Chairman also congratulated Buhari on his recovery.

The PDP chief prayed God to give him greater strength to shoulder the responsibilities of his office for the betterment of the country.

He said, “It is on record, Mr. President, that while you were away, being the major opposition party in the country did not stop us from praying for your quick recovery and return to Nigeria.

“This is because we honestly believe that the President of our country, whatever party flag he or she flies, is our president; and his or her health is substantially linked with the nation’s health in so many ways.

“So, a prayer for your health, Mr President, we believe is a prayer for the good health of our country. This was why at several fora, we did, and enjoined others, irrespective of party affiliation, to pray for your quick recovery. It is a thing of joy, that Allah has answered our prayers.

“In any case, this PDP firmly believes that opposition is no madness; it will, therefore, never wish ill of anybody, let alone the person saddled with the responsibility of leading our country.

“Mr President, you will agree with me that the PDP has more than a fair knowledge and experience of the weight of that responsibility.”

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The governor disclosed this while reacting to media reports that he had removed the name and logo of the PDP from his campaign office and mini signposts which were striking around Ado and Ikere-Ekiti roads.

However, he maintained that he remains a pukka member of the PDP, until the outcome of the court judgement.

Meanwhile, the governor has echoed several times that he does not recognise Senator Sheriff as the party’s leader.

It would be recalled that on February 17, a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, ruled that the caretaker committee headed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi was illegal and could not act on behalf of the PDP.

Governor Fayose also met with youths in the state where he solicited for more support for his administration, just as he urged them to come out en masse on May 19, to honor the late former Governor of the Southwest Region, General Adeyinka Adebayo.

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